JP4503384B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention provides a substrate processing for performing a predetermined series of processing (for example, resist coating processing, development processing, etc.) on a thin plate substrate (hereinafter referred to as “substrate”) such as a semiconductor substrate or a liquid crystal glass substrate. Relates to the device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a substrate processing apparatus that performs a predetermined series of processing such as resist coating processing, exposure processing, and development processing on a substrate by a plurality of processing units is known. An example of such a substrate processing apparatus is disclosed in Patent Document 1. As shown in Patent Document 1, the substrate processing apparatus includes a loading unit 31, a spin coater unit 32, a leveling processing unit 33, an edge rinse unit 34, and a conveyor chamber (unloading unit) 35 as one of the processing units. A resist coating unit 30 is provided. And from the carrying-in part 31 to the conveyor chamber 35, a board | substrate is conveyed by the sliders 5a-5d which forward a board | substrate to the adjacent process part.

In the case of the substrate processing apparatus as described above, as shown in FIG. 11, the mechanism for transporting the substrate G from the edge rinse section 34 to the conveyor chamber 35 by the slider 5 d is arranged with the conveyor chamber 35 adjacent to the edge rinse section 34. The substrate G is transported from the edge rinse section 34 to the conveyor chamber 35 from the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 11 to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line by the slider 5d, and the conveyor mechanism 39 further uses the conveyor mechanism 39. Thus, the substrate G is transported to the pre-bake unit 40. The substrate G transported to the pre-baking unit 40 is transported to the processing chamber above the pre-baking unit 40 by the hand portion of the robot 42 when the adjacent robot 42 enters the pre-baking unit 40 to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line. Is done.
JP 11-274265 A

  The conventional substrate processing apparatus having the above configuration requires a conveyor mechanism 39 and a slider 5d for transporting the substrate from the edge rinse section 34 to the conveyor chamber 35, so that the manufacturing cost of the apparatus is high. Further, the presence of the conveyor chamber 35 and the conveyor mechanism 39 increases the substrate transport path from the edge rinse unit 34 to the pre-bake unit 40, resulting in a problem that the total length of the substrate processing apparatus is increased.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus in which the total length of the substrate processing apparatus is short and the manufacturing cost of the apparatus is reduced.

The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus having a plurality of processing chambers arranged in a stack, and is adjacent to the transfer chamber and a transfer chamber arranged in a stack with respect to the plurality of processing chambers. The hand unit is held at a certain height between the processing unit arranged in this manner, the hand unit on which the substrate is placed, and the processing unit provided in the transfer chamber and arranged adjacent to the transfer chamber . The first transfer means having a main body part that moves forward and backward in only one direction of the processing part in the state, and is installed on the side of the transfer chamber, moves forward and backward up and down and moves up and down to the transfer chamber side, A second transfer means for transferring the substrate to and from the hand portion of the first transfer means located in the transfer chamber and transferring the substrate between the transfer chamber and the plurality of processing chambers; , On the upper surface of the hand portion of the first conveying means And a plurality of substrate support pins for supporting the substrate, and the second transport means has a second hand portion for supporting the substrate, and the second hand portion is the first hand portion. The substrate is transferred by entering the gap between the substrate and the upper surface of the hand portion by the substrate support pin from the side in the forward / backward direction of one transport means .

  In this configuration, the main body portion of the first transfer means provided in the transfer chamber moves the hand unit forward and backward between the transfer chamber and the processing unit disposed adjacent thereto, whereby the processing unit, the transfer chamber, The substrate is conveyed between the two. Thereby, a board | substrate moves directly by the hand part of a 1st conveyance means between a conveyance chamber and the process part adjacent to this.

Further, in this configuration, the second transport unit transports the substrate transported to the transport chamber by the hand unit of the first transport unit to the processing chamber or from the processing chamber to the hand unit in the transport chamber. Is supposed to do.

Further, according to this configuration, since the second transfer unit transfers the substrate to and from the hand unit of the first transfer unit located in the transfer chamber, the first transfer unit and the second transfer unit The substrate can be transferred directly and promptly, which can contribute to an improvement in throughput of substrate processing.

The invention according to claim 2 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit has a substrate vertical movement mechanism for moving the substrate up and down. A plurality of pins for supporting the substrate are included, and the substrate is transferred to the hand portion of the first transport means by moving these pins up and down.

The invention according to claim 3 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein a plurality of the first transfer means are provided, and each first transfer means has. Each of the main body units moves the hand unit forward and backward with respect to a processing unit predetermined for each first transport unit among a plurality of processing units arranged adjacent to each other.

  According to this structure, each main body part which a some 1st conveyance means has is with respect to each process part predetermined about each 1st conveyance means among the several process parts arrange | positioned adjacently. Since the hand unit is moved back and forth, the substrate can be transferred to and from a plurality of processing units arranged adjacent to the transfer chamber, and the substrate transfer direction is not limited to one direction.

Further, the invention according to claim 4, a substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the main body portion of the first conveying means, said adjacent positioning the hand unit An intermediate table for advancing and retreating the processed unit, and a base unit for moving the intermediate table forward and backward in the same direction as the advancing and retreating direction of the hand unit by the intermediate table. The parts are provided by being laminated in the vertical direction.

  In this configuration, the main body portion is provided with a hand portion, an intermediate table, and a base portion stacked in the vertical direction, and both the intermediate table advance / retreat operation by the base portion and the hand portion advance / retreat operation by the intermediate table are provided. Thus, the hand unit is moved back and forth between the processing unit and the transfer chamber.

The invention according to claim 5 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein it is detected whether or not a substrate is placed on the hand unit on the intermediate table of the first transfer means. A substrate detection sensor is provided.

  In this configuration, a substrate detection sensor for detecting whether or not a substrate is placed on the hand unit is provided on the intermediate table of the first transport means, and wiring for operating the substrate detection sensor from the intermediate table to the hand unit Etc. are eliminated.

The invention described in Claim 6 is a substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the hand portion of the first conveying means, to the substrate mounting surface A plurality of protrusions for restricting the movement of the substrate to the side are provided, and the substrate is placed within a range formed by the plurality of protrusions.

  In this configuration, the plurality of protrusions provided on the substrate placement surface of the hand portion regulates the movement of the substrate to the side, and the substrate is placed on the substrate placement surface in a stable state. It is designed to carry.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, between the processing chamber adjacent to the transfer chamber and the transfer chamber, the hand portion of the first transfer means provided in the transfer chamber causes the transfer chamber and the processing portion to be between each other. Since the substrate moves directly and there is no need to provide a separate conveyor chamber or conveyor mechanism between the transfer chamber and the processing unit, for example, the substrate transfer path becomes shorter and the total length of the substrate processing apparatus is reduced. This shortens the manufacturing cost of the device.

In addition , the second transfer unit can transfer the substrate in the transfer chamber to the processing chamber or transfer the substrate from the processing chamber to the transfer chamber.

Further , since the second transfer means transfers the substrate to and from the hand portion of the first transfer means that is positioned in the transfer chamber, the substrate transfer between the first transfer means and the second transfer means is directly performed. And can be done quickly.

According to invention of Claim 3 , each main part which a some 1st conveyance means has is each predetermined for each 1st conveyance means among the several process parts arrange | positioned adjacently. By moving the hand unit forward and backward with respect to the processing unit, the substrate can be transferred to and from a plurality of processing units arranged adjacent to the transfer chamber, and the substrate transfer direction is not limited to one direction. .

According to invention of Claim 4 , a hand part, an intermediate | middle table, and a base part are laminated | stacked and provided in the up-down direction, both the advance / retreat operation | movement of the intermediate table by a base part and the advance / retreat operation | movement of a hand part by an intermediate table The operation causes the hand unit to move back and forth between the processing unit and the transfer chamber, so that the hand unit moves relative to the processing unit while reducing the size of the first transfer means in a state where the hand unit is retracted from the processing unit. When advancing, it is possible to ensure a large operating range of the hand unit.

According to the invention described in claim 5 , it is not necessary to provide wiring for operating the substrate detection sensor from the intermediate table to the hand unit, and the configuration of the hand unit that enters the processing unit and delivers the substrate is provided. Since it becomes simple, it is possible to make it difficult for a failure to occur when the substrate is delivered to the processing unit.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the plurality of protrusions provided on the substrate placement surface of the hand portion can stably carry the substrate while placing the substrate on the substrate placement surface. it can. As a result, the substrate can be stably placed on the hand portion without providing the substrate suction mechanism or the like in the hand portion. Therefore, it is necessary to provide the hand portion or the like with piping necessary for providing the substrate suction mechanism. In addition, it is possible to reduce particle intrusion into the processing unit when the hand unit enters the processing unit.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The substrate processing apparatus 1 mainly includes an indexer unit 2, a cleaning unit 10, a dehydration bake unit 20, a resist coating unit 30, a pre-bake unit 40, a development unit 80, a post-bake unit 90, a pre-bake unit 40, and And a buffer (buffer unit) 50 interposed between the exposure units 60, and each unit processing unit performs processing while transporting each unit processing unit in a predetermined transport order supplied from the indexer unit 2. After that, the layout configuration is such that another processing unit is connected to the indexer unit 2 in a U-shape so that the substrate is returned to the indexer unit 2 again.

  The substrate processing apparatus 1 is a coater / developer apparatus in which a plurality of processing units are connected to enable consistent processing. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is connected to the exposure unit 60 and performs a part of the photolithography process. The process from washing to resist coating / exposure / development can be performed continuously.

  The indexer unit 2 is provided with a cassette mounting unit for mounting a cassette 4 containing a substrate and a substrate transfer robot 3, and the substrate transfer robot 3 transfers a substrate from the cassette 4 set on the cassette mounting unit. The substrate is taken out and transferred to the cleaning unit 10, and the processed substrate is received from the post-bake unit 90 and stored in the original cassette 4.

  The cleaning unit 10 includes a carry-in unit 11, a UV ozone cleaning unit 12, a water washing unit 13, a droplet removal unit 14, and a carry-out unit 15, while transporting the substrate supplied from the indexer unit 2 in a horizontal posture, for example. The cleaning process is performed.

  The dehydration bake unit 20 includes a carry-in unit 21, a heating unit 22, an adhesion strengthening processing unit 23, and a cooling unit 24. First, the heating unit 22 performs a heating process on the substrate that has been subjected to the cleaning process. In order to remove moisture and improve the adhesion of the resist solution, HMDS (hexamethyldisilazane) is applied in the adhesion strengthening processing unit 23. Finally, the cooling unit 24 is configured to cool the substrate.

  The resist coating unit 30 includes a carry-in unit 31, a spin coater unit 32, a reduced pressure drying unit 33, and an edge rinse unit (an example of a processing unit in claims). A uniform resist film is formed on the surface, and after this is depressurized by the vacuum drying unit 33, an unnecessary resist film on the periphery of the substrate is removed by the edge rinse unit 34. A pre-bake unit 40 is provided on the side of the edge rinse part 34.

  The pre-bake unit 40 has a processing chamber 41b having a heating unit and a cooling unit in multiple stages. A robot 42 takes the substrate into and out of the processing chamber 41b and performs heating and cooling processing on the substrate. It is configured as follows. Note that the pre-bake unit 40 includes a processing chamber 41b and a transfer chamber 41a provided in the lower portion of the processing chamber 41b (FIG. 2).

  The buffer 50 includes two storage units 51 that can store a large number of substrates, and a robot 52 interposed between the storage units 51. The buffer 50 includes a substrate before exposure and a substrate after exposure. The robot 52 is configured to be stored in each storage unit 51 and temporarily wait for the substrate.

  The exposure unit 60 includes, for example, an exposure machine such as a reduction projection exposure machine, an alignment mechanism that performs positioning for printing an exposure pattern in the exposure unit, and the like, and is configured to expose a substrate after pre-baking. ing.

  The developing unit 80 includes a carry-in unit 81, a developing unit 82, a washing / drying unit 83, and a carry-out unit 84. In the developing unit 82, for example, the developing process is performed while spraying the developer onto the substrate. It is configured.

  The post-bake unit 90 includes a carry-in unit 91, a heating unit 92, a cooling unit 93, and a carry-out unit 94. First, development that has been performed on the substrate after the development processing is left on the substrate. The liquid and the cleaning liquid are removed by evaporation, and then a cooling process is performed.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 8 denotes a substrate placement table, which temporarily places a substrate when the substrate is delivered between the pre-bake unit 40 and the buffer 50. Reference numeral 70 denotes a conveyor that conveys the substrate after the exposure processing to the developing unit 80.

  The substrate conveyance among the edge rinse part 34, the pre-bake unit 40, and the robot 42 of the resist coating unit 30 will be described. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the edge rinse unit 34, the pre-bake unit 40, and the robot 42. FIG. 3 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the edge rinse unit 34 and the pre-bake unit 40. A substrate vertical movement mechanism 341 that moves the substrate G up and down in a state where the lower portion of the substrate G is supported by the eight pins 341 a is provided in the edge rinse part 34.

  The pre-bake unit 40 includes a transfer chamber 41a and a plurality of processing chambers 41b stacked on top of the transfer chamber 41a. A substrate transfer robot (first transfer means) 411 is installed in the transfer chamber 41a. The substrate transfer robot 411 transfers the substrate G from the edge rinse unit 34 to the transfer chamber 41a. The substrate transport robot 411 includes a hand unit 4111 for placing a substrate, an intermediate table 4112 for moving the hand unit 4111 to the edge rinse unit 34 side (substrate vertical movement mechanism 341 side), and an intermediate table 4112 for the edge rinse unit 34. And a base portion 4113 to be moved to the side. In the substrate transport robot 411, the hand unit 4111 is moved to the inside of the edge rinse unit 34 by the base unit 4113 and the intermediate table 4112, and the hand unit 4111 receives the substrate G from the substrate vertical movement mechanism 341, and the hand unit 4111 receives the substrate. The substrate G is transferred from the edge rinse portion 34 to the transfer chamber 41a by being moved again to the transfer chamber 41a by the base portion 4113 and the intermediate table 4112 in a state where G is placed.

  The substrate G placed on the hand portion 4111 and moved into the transfer chamber 41a is transferred from the hand portion 4111 to the robot (second transfer means) 42 installed on the side of the transfer chamber 41a. The robot 42 transfers the received substrate G to any one of the plurality of processing chambers 41b stacked on the transfer chamber 41a. The substrate G transported to any one of the processing chambers 41b is then taken out from the pre-bake unit 40 (processing chamber 41b) by the robot 42 and transferred to the next process unit.

  A configuration of the substrate transfer robot 411 will be described. 4 is a plan view showing the substrate transfer robot in a state of being accommodated in the transfer chamber, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the substrate transfer robot 411 in a state before the substrate G is placed, and FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the state of the substrate transfer robot 411 when placing, FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of the tip of the hand portion 4111 of the substrate transfer robot 411, and FIG. 8 is a substrate detection sensor provided on the intermediate table 4112 It is a side view which shows a part.

  As described above, the substrate transfer robot 411 includes the hand unit 4111, the intermediate table 4112, and the base unit 4113. The base portion 4113 is installed on the bottom surface of the transfer chamber 41a. The upper surface 4113a of the base portion 4113 has an air cylinder 4113b for driving the intermediate table 4112 and an intermediate table 4112 driven by the air cylinder 4113b. A linear motion guide 4113c for guiding the movement is provided. The linear motion guide 4113c is provided so as to extend in the direction of the edge rinse portion 34 in order to move the intermediate table 4112 to the edge rinse portion 34 side. The air cylinder 4113b is attached at a position where the linear motion guide 4113c is attached and a position where the movement of the intermediate table 4112 is not hindered.

  The lower part of the intermediate table 4112 is slidably mounted on the linear motion guide 4113c. An upper surface 4112a of the intermediate table 4112 is provided with an air cylinder 4112b for driving the hand portion 4111 and a linear motion guide 4112c for guiding the movement of the hand portion 4111 driven by the air cylinder 4112b. The linear motion guide 4112c is provided so as to extend in the direction of the edge rinse portion 34 in order to move the hand portion 4111 to the edge rinse portion 34 side. The air cylinder 4112b is attached at a position where the linear motion guide 4112c is attached and a position where the movement of the hand portion 4111 does not hinder.

  The lower portion of the hand portion 4111 is slidably mounted on the linear motion guide 4112c on the intermediate table 4112. The hand portion 4111 has two long members 4111a and two long members 4111b for placing the substrate G thereon. The long member 4111a is provided so as to extend in the direction of the edge rinse portion 34, and the long member 4111b is provided so as to extend in a direction orthogonal to the long member 4111a.

  For example, four substrate support pins 4111c are provided on the upper surface of each elongate member 4111a. Further, four substrate support pins 4111c are also provided near the center of the hand portion 4111 in plan view. The substrate G is placed on these 12 substrate support pins 4111c. In addition, a substrate guide pin (projection) 4111d is provided at the tip of the two long members 4111a on the edge rinse portion 34 side (tip in the traveling direction of the hand portion 4111). The two long members 4111b are provided with two substrate guide pins (projections) 4111e and 4111f, respectively. As shown in FIG. 7, the height of the substrate guide pins 4111d is set higher than the height of the substrate support pins 4111c, and the same applies to the substrate guide pins 4111e and 4111f.

  When the substrate G is placed on the substrate support pins 4111c of the hand portion 4111, the substrate guide pins 4111d provided on the long member 4111a are located at the tip of the substrate G in the traveling direction of the hand portion 4111. The mounting position of the substrate guide pins 4111d and 4111e is set so that the substrate guide pin 4111e provided on the long member 4111b is in contact with the rear end portion of the substrate G in the traveling direction of the hand portion 4111. Yes. Further, the substrate guide pin 4111e provided on the long member 4111b is attached at a position in contact with the side portion of the substrate G in the traveling direction of the hand portion 4111. As a result, the substrate guide pins 4111d and 4111e regulate the movement of the substrate G in the traveling direction of the substrate G placed on the substrate support pins 4111c, and the substrate guide pin 4111f is the hand portion 4111 of the substrate G. The movement in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the head is regulated.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the hand portion 4111 moves to the edge rinse portion 34 side as much as possible at the front end portion of the hand portion 4111 on the upper surface of the intermediate table 4112, the hand portion 4111 is located above the hand portion 4111. A substrate detection sensor 4114 is provided at a position where no exists. As shown in FIG. 8, the substrate detection sensor 4114 includes a light emitting unit 4114a that emits light upward, and a light receiving unit 4114b that receives light reflected from the substrate G of light emitted from the light emitting unit 4114a. . When the substrate G is placed on the hand unit 4111, the light receiving unit 4114b receives reflected light from the light emitting unit 4114a on the substrate G, and the substrate G is placed on the hand unit 4111. If not, since the light reflected from the substrate G of the light emitted from the light emitting unit 4114a is not received, the hand unit depends on whether the light receiving unit 4114b receives the reflected light from the substrate G or not. Whether or not the substrate G is placed on 4111 can be detected.

  By providing the substrate detection sensor 4114 with the above configuration on the intermediate table 4112 without being provided in the hand unit 4111, wiring and the like for driving and controlling the substrate detection sensor 4114 is provided from the intermediate table 4112 to the hand unit 4111. Since it is not necessary, the configuration of the hand unit 4111 is simplified, and it is possible to make it difficult to cause a failure when the hand unit 4111 enters the edge rinse unit 34 during delivery of the substrate G.

  The transfer of the substrate G from the edge rinse unit 34 by the substrate transfer robot 411 will be described with reference to FIGS. When the substrate transfer robot 411 does not transfer the substrate G, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the base unit 4113, the intermediate table 4112, and the hand unit 4111 are overlapped and wait in the transfer chamber 41 a. To do. When the substrate transfer robot 411 takes the substrate G to the edge rinse portion 34, the air cylinder 4113b of the base portion 4113 is driven, and the intermediate table 4112 moves on the base portion 4113 along the linear motion guide 4113c to the edge rinse portion 34 side. Move to.

  Following or simultaneously with this, the air cylinder 4112b on the intermediate table 4112 is driven, and the hand portion 4111 moves on the intermediate table 4112 along the linear motion guide 4112c toward the edge rinse portion 34 (see FIG. 5). ). 5 is a safe position where the hand unit 4111 of the substrate transport robot 411 does not interfere with the shuttle transport mechanism that transports the substrate G from the upstream side of the edge rinse unit 34.

  When the intermediate table 4112 and the hand unit 4111 are further moved from the state shown in FIG. 5 toward the edge rinse unit 34 as shown in FIG. 6, the hand unit 4111 is supported by the substrate vertical movement mechanism 341. Under G, that is, into the gap between the substrate G formed by the pins 341a and the upper surface portion 341b.

  A hand portion 4111 enters between the substrate G and the upper surface portion 341b of the substrate vertical movement mechanism 341, and as shown in FIG. 7, substrate guide pins 4111d on the two long members 4111a and two long members 4111b. When the substrate guide pins 4111e and 4111f of the substrate G are positioned at the front end portion, the rear end portion and the side portion of the substrate G, the edge rinse is performed until the lower portion of the substrate G contacts the substrate support pin 4111c of the hand portion 4111. The substrate vertical movement mechanism 341 of the unit 34 lowers the substrate G.

  When the substrate G is lowered by the substrate vertical movement mechanism 341, the substrate G is placed on the substrate support pins 4111c of the hand portion 4111, and the substrate G is surrounded by the substrate guide pins 4111d, 4111e, and 4111f to the side. When the movement is restricted, the air cylinder 4113b of the base portion 4113 of the substrate transfer robot 411 is driven, and the intermediate table 4112 moves to the transfer chamber 41a side. Subsequently or simultaneously with this, the intermediate table 4112 is moved. The upper air cylinder 4112b is driven, and the hand portion 4111 moves to the transfer chamber 41a side. By the operation of the substrate transfer robot 411, the hand unit 4111 and the intermediate table 4112 are returned to the standby positions shown in FIGS.

When the hand unit 4111 and the intermediate table 4112 return to the standby position shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 with the substrate G placed on the substrate G, the robot 42 enters the transfer chamber 41a. The second hand portion 42a is inserted into the gap between the substrate G formed by the substrate support pins 4111c and the elongated members 4111a and 4111b up to the position indicated by the dotted line.

Thereafter, the second hand part 42a is raised and the substrate G is placed. With such second hand portion 42a is placed on the substrate G, a second hand portion 42a of the robot 42 is moved in a direction away from the transfer chamber 41a, then, to the height of the processing chamber 41b to be housed destination substrate G The second hand part 42a moves up, and the second hand part 42a moves in the horizontal direction toward the processing chamber 41b, enters the processing chamber 41b, and stores the substrate G in the processing chamber 41b.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above embodiment, the substrate transfer robot 411 provided in the transfer chamber 41a is described as transferring the substrate G from the edge rinse unit 34 to the transfer chamber 41a side. However, the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present invention is described. The substrate transfer robot 411 transfers the substrate G to a plurality of processing units provided adjacent to the pre-bake unit 40 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 below. It is also possible to configure as described above. FIG. 9 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the pre-baking unit 40 and a plurality of processing units adjacent to the pre-baking unit 40. FIG. 10 shows a schematic configuration of the pre-baking unit 40, a plurality of processing units adjacent to the pre-baking unit 40, and the robot 42. FIG.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 9, two substrate transfer robots 411 are arranged in different height positions in the transfer chamber 41a of the pre-bake unit 40, and the hand portion 4111 of one substrate transfer robot 411 is in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure. The substrate is transferred from the processing unit 500 adjacent to the pre-baking unit 40 to the transfer chamber 41a, and the hand unit 4111 of the other substrate transfer robot 411 is moved in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. The substrate G may be transferred from the other processing unit 501 adjacent to the transfer chamber 41a. In this case, both substrate transfers to the processing unit 500 and the processing unit 501 can be performed simultaneously.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the substrate transfer robot 411 in the transfer chamber 41 a is configured to be rotatable in the horizontal direction (the arrow direction shown in the figure), and the processing unit 500 provided adjacent to the pre-bake unit 40. , 501, and the substrate G may be transferred, and a configuration in which the orientation of the hand unit 4111 can be changed may be adopted. In this case, since it is sufficient to provide one substrate transfer robot 411 in the transfer chamber 41a, a configuration that can transfer the substrate G in both directions can be relatively easily configured.

  Note that the configuration of the substrate transport mechanism between the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the pre-bake unit 40 described above and the processing unit adjacent thereto is merely an example, and is not intended to be limited to the above configuration. Further, the substrate transport direction between the pre-bake unit 40 and the processing unit adjacent to the pre-bake unit 40 is not limited to the above-described direction from the edge rinse unit 34 toward the pre-bake unit 40, and is different from this (for example, reverse) It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the substrate G is conveyed in the direction).

It is a figure which shows an example of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of an edge rinse part, a prebaking unit, and a robot. It is a side view which shows schematic structure of an edge rinse part and a prebaking unit. It is a top view which shows the board | substrate conveyance robot in the state accommodated in the conveyance chamber. It is a top view which shows the board | substrate conveyance robot in the state before mounting a board | substrate. It is a top view which shows the state of the board | substrate conveyance robot at the time of mounting a board | substrate. It is a side view which expands and shows the front-end | tip part of the hand part of a board | substrate conveyance robot. It is a side view which shows the board | substrate detection sensor part provided in the intermediate table. It is a side view which shows schematic structure of the prebaking unit and the some process part adjacent to a prebaking unit. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the pre-baking unit, the some process part adjacent to a pre-baking unit, and a robot. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the edge rinse part, the prebaking unit, and robot in the conventional substrate processing apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 30 Resist coating unit 34 Edge rinse part 341 Substrate vertical movement mechanism 341a Pin 341b Upper surface part 40 Prebaking unit 41a Transfer chamber 41b Processing chamber 411 Substrate transfer robot 4111 Hand part 4111a Long member 4111b Long member 4111c Substrate Support pins 4111d to 4111f Substrate guide pins 4112 Intermediate table 4112a Upper surface 4112b Air cylinder 4112c Linear motion guide 4113 Base portion 4113a Upper surface 4113b Air cylinder 4113c Linear motion guide 4114 Substrate detection sensor 4114a Light emitting portion 4114b Light receiving portion 42 Robot 42a 501 processing unit G substrate

Claims (6)

A substrate processing apparatus having a plurality of processing chambers arranged in a stack,
A transfer chamber that is stacked on the plurality of processing chambers;
A processing unit disposed adjacent to the transfer chamber;
One direction in the direction of the processing unit in a state where the hand unit is held at a certain height between a hand unit for placing the substrate and a processing unit provided in the transfer chamber and disposed adjacent to the transfer chamber. a first conveyor means having a body portion which only forward and backward operation,
Installed on the side of the transfer chamber, moves up and down to the transfer chamber side, and moves up and down, thereby transferring the substrate to and from the hand portion of the first transfer means located in the transfer chamber. And a second transfer means for transferring a substrate between the transfer chamber and the plurality of processing chambers ,
A plurality of substrate support pins for supporting the substrate protrude from the upper surface of the hand portion of the first transfer means, while the second transfer means is a second hand portion for supporting the substrate. The second hand portion enters the gap between the substrate and the upper surface of the hand portion by the substrate support pin from the side in the advancing / retreating direction side of the first transport means, thereby transferring the substrate. a substrate processing apparatus, which comprises carrying out. The processing unit includes a substrate up-and-down moving mechanism that moves the substrate up and down. The substrate up-and-down moving mechanism includes a plurality of pins for supporting the substrate. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is transferred to a hand portion of one transport means. A plurality of the first conveying means are provided, and each main body part of each first conveying means has a predetermined process for each first conveying means among a plurality of processing units arranged adjacent to each other. against part, the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein advancing and retracting operation of the hand unit. The main body of the first transport means advances and retracts the intermediate table in the same direction as the advancing and retreating direction of the hand unit by the intermediate table, and an intermediate table for moving the hand unit forward and backward with respect to the adjacent processing units. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a base portion to be operated, wherein the hand portion, the intermediate table, and the base portion are provided so as to be stacked in a vertical direction. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein a substrate detection sensor that detects whether or not a substrate is placed on the hand unit is provided on the intermediate table of the first transport unit. The hand portion of the first transport means is provided with a plurality of projections on the substrate placement surface for restricting the movement of the substrate to the side, and within a range formed by the plurality of projections. the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 substrate is placed.

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